3565 Days since retiring July 1, 2005!

”Time and space are expanding apparently faster than light speed at times. My time seems to have contracted to an unending series of conflicting events. It is as if the troglodyte gnome in charge of my life has lost its watch.”

This thing started out as a daily record of stuff I felt was memorable. Then I retired, with all the time in the world, and my life turned into a kaleidoscope controlled a senior member of Congress. All sound and fury signifying nothing. I found then I was lucky to have periods every day or two to note things. Now I have moved into an independent living retirement community and have almost no time to spare. I have no pool care, lawn care, household repairs and etc to eat my time. What I do have is a newly found love for cooking and also extremely friendly neighbors. I wake at 5 am to take a pill and pee, go back to bed until 9 when Rascal wakes me by patting my face and begging for food. We eat breakfast. Then we read the newspaper, me with my eyes and he with his butt. We have a good old wrestle over the paper most mornings. Then I check my Google Calendar, I have no functional short term memory, and discover that somehow 3 or more events are scheduled during the day. Usually close enough in time and space that I can plan a least time route. Now I often skip lunch in favor of time in the steam room or exercise room at HBU. I have noticed even less time being spent there. After lunch I prep the ingredients for dinner and then take a nap. Hence this thing has become nearly a weekly report.

Last Thursday 4/2/2015 I saw that my tomato no longer has a yellow tint to it so I harvested it. The pictures below are a profile shot and a view of the top. The mighty beast weighed 2.3 ounces and has a density of about 1.4 grams per milliliter. That means it is about twice as big as a cherry tomato and as dense as a regular tomato. Looking back over my records I see I spent $37 on stuff for the tomato. The tomato cost $257 per pound. I could have bought an ass load of really good tomatoes. I will have it for dinner tomorrow.

Tonight I solved 2 problems with one dish. I call it Shrimp Experiment X. Rascal was whining and begging for food. I did not want to go grocery shopping because I always spend too much when I am hungry. I did have some frozen raw shrimp (very large) with tails on. I put a tablespoon of unsalted butter in a skillet/saucepan and melted it. I dropped in 8 of the frozen shrimp and sautéed them until they were warm and the shell was pink and the rest of the shrimp were turning pink. I picked out the two biggest and chopped them for Rascal. They must have been good because he was sighing as he ate them. He lept onto my lap and watched while I “finished” my portion. That sounds like I had a plan for cooking. No plan just SWAG. When they were totally pink and hot I poured about a half cup of Ragu traditional meat sauce over them and stirred around on low heat until they were firmly coated with the sauce. I separated the shrimp and added to the pan mixture three very small Yukon roaster potatoes sliced about three times the thickness of a playing card. To this I added 5 pickled jalapeno slices mashed to a fine paste. I let simmer until the pepper flavor was well dispersed and the potatoes softened. I poured in a half cup of heavy whipping cream and let simmer with frequent simmering until the mixture was the color of a really good ripe Georgia Peach fresh from the tree.

I added back the shrimp and let it all simmer until the internal temp of the shrimp was, on average, above 123F. I plated the mass and poured a big goblet of August Nights yellow wine. My plating leaves much to be desired. The dish has just a modicum too much fire and the potatoes should have been softer. Next time I will roast them then slice them.

And sat down to write this entry. And discovered I have to take YD to Hempstead at 9am, get a huge finger stuck up my arse at 1 pm and take Rascal to the vet at 3:30 pm and do grocery shopping at 6, pick my George Jones plates from Lynnview for the dinner party I am hosting Friday. On the way back to Clarewood I will stop at BB&B for a tall kitchen stool. I have tentative plans Wednesday to drive up to Industry and environs for wild flowers. I have not been there in several years.

Stopping to watch the Roma Downing movie “The Bible Continues”. Be sweet to each another.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.